SUMTER CEMETERY RULES AND REGULATIONS

Updated August 31, 2023

Sumter Cemetery hours are dusk to dawn Monday through Sunday. Visits at night are not allowed unless approved by cemetery management or the Board of Directors. Office hours vary … please call ahead for assistance.

All visitors entering the cemetery are expected to conduct themselves appropriately. Visitors being disruptive or acting unacceptably will be asked to leave. Please stay out of the maintenance areas of the cemetery.

Vandalism and theft of any part of the cemetery will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Property is visited by Sumter police regularly.

Lots are sold only with perpetual care.

Perpetual care consists of mowing grass, removing leaves and trash, trimming and/or removing shrubbery and trees, filling sunken graves, removal of flowers and decorations, and other work necessary to maintain an acceptable appearance of the cemetery grounds.

Perpetual care does not include tombstone, crypt and coping maintenance, fence maintenance (historic section), and gravel maintenance/replacement (where applicable).

Monument placement guidelines:

  • Prior cemetery management approval is required for all monument, marker, bench and coping placements.

  • All work is to be of a standard acceptable to the cemetery management and should be carried out by an experienced monument company.

  • Marker foundations are to be of sufficient strength to adequately support the monument and are to be placed on solid ground.

  • Cemetery charges a perpetual care monument installation fee that must be paid in advance for any monument, marker and/or coping placed on a gravesite. This fee is determined by the area of the base of the monument, marker or coping. This fee is either paid directly to the cemetery or to the monument company, acting as an agent for the cemetery by prior agreement.

  • Only high-quality marble, granite and bronze are acceptable materials for monuments and markers. Only flat markers are permitted in designated areas of the cemetery.

Coping placement guidelines:

  • Coping is not to exceed six inches in height.

  • Granite and marble are acceptable materials for coping. Brick and concrete coping/borders are no longer allowed.

  • Approval of cemetery management is required prior to installation.

  • Rock may be used within the confines of the coping.

  • Only white, gray rock or crushed red brick may be used.

  • The top 4 inches of soil must be removed and ground must be treated with herbicide to deter the growth of grass.

  • Area to be graveled should be covered with thick plastic.

  • A minimum of 4 inches of rock must be spread evenly over entire area.

  • Rock of any kind will not be permitted on gravesites without coping.

  • No other ground cover (bark, wood, rubber, ground cover plants, etc.) are allowed. Artificial turf is not allowed anywhere in the cemetery.

The construction of crypts/mausoleums is permitted only in designated areas.

Opening and closing fees are to be paid in full prior to the opening of a grave for burial. A minimum of 24 hours’ notice is required to assure timely opening of a grave.

In the event that coping, a monument, or any other structure needs to be moved to facilitate the digging of the grave, it is the responsibility of the lot owner to cover the costs of relocating those items to their original location after the grave has been closed. These costs will be determined by cemetery staff and must be paid in addition to the opening/closing fee. A monument company will be used to ensure replacement is done properly. The cemetery is not in a position to do this.

No structures of any kind are permitted on gravesites without prior approval of the Board of Directors.

A headstone and/or footstone is to be placed on a gravesite within one year of a burial on the gravesite to ensure a permanent marker is in place acknowledging the internment.

Some areas of the cemetery are irrigated, and a premium is charged for spaces within the irrigated sections. This system may be expanded at the discretion of the cemetery management and the board of directors but there is no requirement to do so.

Cemetery employees are not permitted to sell or recommend monuments or monument dealers.

Cemetery employees and those associated in any way with the cemetery staff are not permitted to accept any sort of remuneration for services rendered to a lot/space owner.

If you have any questions regarding these policies, please contact the cemetery manager or a board member. Please be aware that these rules are developed by, reviewed by and approved by the Sumter Cemetery Association Board of Directors and cannot be changed except by that process.